Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Center Scott Wells doubtful for opener

Just when you thought it was safe to have a solid starting offensive line geared up for Monday night's opener against the ViQueens...bam! (to quote Emeril). Not so fast. Seems as if center Scott Wells' lower back muscle injury reared its ugly head again. After being held out of practice for 16 days and seeing a specialist recently, it turns out the back is still causing problems. Wells says he can deal with the pain but, as he says in this article, "it’s just sometimes when you have back pain you get weak in your legs and so on and so forth. So that’s the whole thing we’re trying to avoid.” Yeah, weak legs on the center would not be a good thing.

So, if Wells is unable to go Monday night, the lineup that started against the Titans in the last preseason game would be called upon again: LT Chad Clifton, LG Daryn Colledge, C Jason Spitz, RG Tony Moll and RT Mark Tauscher. Pretty darn good, usually, thanks in no small measure to the Packers' penchant for shuffling players at multiple positions. If Spitz gets injured, Colledge would be next at center. Still, given that the 'Queens D-line is one of the best in the league, it would be best if Wells could play, but only if he is at 100 percent.

So, start saying those novenas for healing, Packer fans. We could use a fully healthy O-line going into the opener. A number of other players are also sore in various places, so maybe make it a blanket type thing. And, of course, be sure to ask for special intercessionary help from St. Vince.